


Blood Is Thicker Than DNA

by Duck_Life



Category: Fantastic Four (Comicverse), House of X - Fandom
Genre: Brother-Sister Relationships, Family, Gen, House of X/Powers of X (2019), Late Night Conversations, Mutants
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-03
Updated: 2019-08-03
Packaged: 2020-07-30 12:03:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20096944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duck_Life/pseuds/Duck_Life
Summary: Val doesn't know what the hell is going on on Krakoa, but she knows where her brother belongs.





	Blood Is Thicker Than DNA

It’s not like he’s  _ stupid _ . Not as smart as his sister or his dad, maybe, but he’s not stupid. Franklin knows about the conversation Cyclops had with his mom. He knows about the offer, the invitation. He knows what it means.

Now he’s just lying on his back, staring at the ceiling of his room and trying to figure out what the hell the world is coming to. His eyes follow whorls and patterns in the fresh paint. Ben fixed 4 Yancy Street up really nice for the family. Franklin wonders what the living arrangements are like on Krakoa. 

Someone knocks on his door and he mumbles, “Come in.” 

It’s Valeria, clutching a plush axolotl close to her chest— a gift from Reed, years ago. “Hey,” she says, stepping slowly into his room. She looks… weird. Timid, nervous in a way she almost never is. “Can I come in?” 

“You’re already in.”

Val scowls and flops down next to him on the bed, staring up at the same spot on the ceiling. “Are you gonna go?” 

“Where?”

“You know where.” 

Franklin sighs. His powers are dwindling, almost gone. What interest do the X-Men have in him, anyway? He’s an omega-level mutant in name alone now, worth no more than what he represents. 

Or maybe that’s part of it. Maybe the X-Men want him as a poster boy. Or, no, maybe they have a way to jumpstart his powers and make him big and strong and important like everyone used to tell him he was. 

“I don’t know, Val,” he says finally, his stomach souring. If it were just about him, he’d choose his family in a heartbeat. Of course he would. But the fact is he’s a mutant, and there’s more to this whole debacle than his own personal choices.

Maybe it won’t even be his choice at all. 

“It’s just. All my friends are in space,” Val says, voice higher than normal. “And you, you’re… I just don’t want you to go, okay? And I understand that’s petty and unfair and trivial. And you’re a mutant, so, you should… you should be with your people.”

“You’re my people, dummy,” he says, rolling on his side to punch her lightly in the arm.

Valeria scowls. “Don’t call me dummy, stupid.” 

Franklin puts his hands behind his head and sighs again, feeling like a gradually deflating balloon. “I’m so tired,” he admits after a moment. 

“Fine, I’ll let you sleep,” she mumbles, moving to get up. Franklin snatches her arm and tugs her back.

“No, not— that’s not what I meant,” he says. “I’m tired of…  _ this _ . I’m tired of being the ace in the hole. People used to treat me like one of those  _ Twilight Zone _ creepy kids, you know? Like if they made me mad I would kill them with my brain. I wouldn’t have! I was a cute kid, Val.”

She snorts. “You and your overbite.”

“Shut up, nerd,” he says, kicking her. She kicks him back harder. “I didn’t wanna be all-powerful or whatever. All I wanted to do was hang out with Leech. Which was like. Do you know the real reason Dad was so supportive of me being best friends with a Morlock? With Leech specifically I mean?”

“Obviously,” she says. “He’s a power dampener. He kept your reality warping in check.” 

“It wasn’t obvious to me,” Franklin says. “I just thought… I dunno. He’s a good guy, Leech. I hate the thought of him thinking that I only care about him because of his powers.” 

“Because that’s what grown-ups thought about you,” Valeria says. 

“Yeah.” He shuts his eyes and focuses on the purple-blue-black shapes behind his eyelids. “I thought things were getting better, Val. I was getting used to living without powers. I passed my driver’s exam. My nightmares weren’t so bad anymore. And now… this happens, and throws everything out of whack.” 

Val taps him on the shoulder so he’ll look at her. Her eyes are wide and serious. “I won’t let them take you,” she promises. “If you want, I’ll ask Uncle Victor to take care of Charles Xavier. If you know what I mean.” 

“That would cause an international incident, Val.”

“Exactly, and take the heat off of you.” She grins like a Cheshire cat in the darkness, like she’s kidding, except her eyes are still just as serious. “Frank. If you decide you  _ want _ to go live on Mutant Island, I’ll help you pack. But if that bald bastard tries to take you there against your will, there isn’t a power in the multiverse that will stop me from keeping you home where you belong. Got it?” 

Franklin smiles and rolls to the side so he can hug her, getting a faceful of axolotl. “Got it,” he says. 

Maybe he doesn’t need reality warping powers to keep his own fragile slice of reality intact. He’s got a sister who would bend reality for him, powers or no powers. And maybe that’s all it takes. 


End file.
